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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR FOUR-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPMay 1, 2019Erica ShepherdMegan FurtneyJacksonville, Florida Q. I guess my first question is they had the 20-hole match in the morning and you guys really jumped out quick. Did you have any kind of a mindset to be aggressive early because maybe they would be a little bit tired, or did you just hit the shots that you should have hit? ERICA SHEPHERD: I think really took advantage of our downtime. I know that I got a quick nap in. But just we wanted to be aggressive the entire time, so just to start off and take advantage of how we refocused. We did that great, and Megan drained some birdies early and it was really... Q. What about this one over the first four hole or so? ERICA SHEPHERD: Yeah, she's so... Q. That was kind of what wound up being the winning deficit, or winning margin, what she did on the first few holes. ERICA SHEPHERD: Right, we haven't been down this entire time throughout match play. MEGAN FURTNEY: Actually I think we were down against Alexa and Amari. ERICA SHEPHERD: Whatever. We were never down very... Q. You lost the 1st hole and came right back. MEGAN FURTNEY: Yeah, the first hole. ERICA SHEPHERD: So, yeah, we've never down more than one, so I think just to keep that going in the final match. To have that early lead with Mega's birdie putts, I think that it kind of what won it for us. Q. Megan, can you tell us about birdie two and birdie three, how the shots set up and how you did it. MEGAN FURTNEY: Well 2 and 3 the pin placements, they fit my ball flight really well. I kind of like to hit a high draw into greens, so both those were tucked left. The first birdie I made on No. 2 I was in the fairway bunker. I like the club I had. Went up one club, and I knew if I caught a little bit thin side and just got it up high it would be tight. That's what I was able to do. Then the third hole we had gotten a pretty good idea for that pin placement earlier in the day when we played our first match, and so I kind of knew where I wanted to place that wedge. I've been able to have pretty good control of my wedges this week, so I was pretty confident in being able to kind of stick that shot within ten feet, which is what I was able to do. Q. I know you're both pretty aggressive players. There was occasion somebody wasn't finding the fairway. But you don't necessarily ever feel like, okay, I'm alone out here, right? You've got each other's backs you said. Did you just know the other person was going to be there regardless? ERICA SHEPHERD: Yeah, especially for me with Megan today. I think if one of us isn't having our best ball striking day, just to be there for mental and emotional support for your partner and be on the greens with them and tell them that they got it before every shot, I think that that can be just as helpful as sticking it inside ten feet. Q. You guys were all over the line on 9; both teams were. Then on 10, you concede Jillian's putt. ERICA SHEPHERD: Yes, yes. MEGAN FURTNEY: Uh-huh. Q. How much did that lift you guys emotionally? Did you get a second wind? MEGAN FURTNEY: Yeah, I definitely think that making that putt helped us out a lot, because I think it's frustrating, especially for me. It was middle of the fairway and I ended making a bogey, and that can be a bit frustrating. So to be able to make that the birdie on 10 was a really big momentum changer for us, and I think that just helped keep us going. Sometimes think that if we didn't make that putt maybe we wouldn't have been able to stay aggressive and keep playing the way we were. I definitely think that putt helped us out a lot. Q. How hard a putt is that? MEGAN FURTNEY: Yeah, it's tough. There is a little bit of pressure to it, but Erica and I both love pressure. ERICA SHEPHERD: We both love pressure. MEGAN FURTNEY: We both love pressure, so that's what is really great about match play for us, is we both kind of thrive on it. Q. Speaking of the match play and drawing off your USGA Championship experience at the girls' junior, does that help you knowing the mental fortitude you need, the grind it is to play two matches a day? Does that kind of help you having gone through that before? ERICA SHEPHERD: Yeah, I talked to Megan about just some things I learned through that. I mean, this is Megan's first time making all the way through something this big, and I think that she handled it great and she looks like she's won a USGA Championship before this, so... Q. What were the type of things that you talked to her about? ERICA SHEPHERD: Something that I knew was somebody told me before going into my final match that I shouldn't -- like you want to play your best golf because it's the biggest stage, but that's just not going to happen. You just have to mentally accept that and have lower expectations. Q. I know it's the 1st of May, but how big a month has it been for you playing at Augusta and winning a National Championship? ERICA SHEPHERD: Yeah, I guess it was pretty fun. Yeah, I missed a lot of school, but I think it's good a good start to the summer. I think me and Megan are both going to take advantage of our last junior golf summer. Q. Obviously you're great friends. Played a lot on visits to Duke. How often have you actually teamed together before last year's women's fourball? MEGAN FURTNEY: I don't think we ever... ERICA SHEPHERD: Just played in the qualifier and shot 61, so that was kind of a good start. Q. And then last year at El Cab, and this year again. You just seem to click. What is it? MEGAN FURTNEY: I mean, I've said it before and I'll say it a hundred more times. We know each other's game so well and we're so good about communicating with each other on the golf course. I think we're one of the few teams out here who didn't use caddies this week. I like to say that we kind of caddie for each other in a sense. We kind of know what kind of shots each other, like what we're capable. So kind of being able to talk those through and have a lot of options open is really important for us as a team. Q. Congratulations again. Thank you again for everything. ERICA SHEPHERD: Thank you. MEGAN FURTNEY: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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